Creative Nonfiction!?!?!

What the hell is creative nonfiction? "Isn't that a contradiction?" I thought to myself. To say the least, I was confused when my advanced comp professor first motioned the term, it was the first time I have ever heard of such a thing. I sat through my first class and wondered what the hell was going on for three straight hours. In hindsight I probably should have asked for clarification on the topic, but that is in the past now. Only upon reading one of the after class assignments for my second class something clicked. After a thorough reading and some reflection, I sat in my desk chair and wondered what it all meant. Then in a moment of enlightenment it came to me. "Oh I get it now, I said allowed. Immediately followed by a "Wow I feel dumb."

Creative nonfiction is a unique blending of fiction and nonfiction. It reads like fiction, it has a plot, dialogue and descriptive details and along with other creative techniques. However at the same time it is based on a foundation of research and truth. While it must captivate the reader, it is important that it adheres to the truth. As the author of creative nonfiction you are taking many legal risks if you stray too far from the truth. That’s why in my opinion it is best to write about personal events. Creative nonfiction doesn’t have to be based on a major historical event or widely publicized issues, but rather one could write a beautiful piece on their own personal experiences. As long as you keep it true there are no worries of landing in hot water. 

Once I was able to really wrap my head around the nature of creative nonfiction I quickly became enamored with it. I’ve personally always preferred to read nonfiction over fiction, but I have always found it a bit dry. That is wear the beauty of creative nonfiction comes in. It is an incredibly rich text that drawls the reader in and makes nonfiction fun. I am very much looking forward to trying my hand at creating this true work of literary art.